Yahoo plans to offer end to end encryption security protocols for its email service by the end of 2015, in an attempt to win over Internet users trying to prevent government snooping and surveillance. The new security features were demonstrated during the South by Southwest festival over the weekend, with a beta offering for developers expected soon.

Even though encryption has received praise from privacy advocates, it is often too difficult for many Internet users - trying to create encryption keys for the sender and receiver. However, Yahoo wants to provide a streamlined offering for its users, though it still will be designed for sensitive emails.

"Our goal is to have this available by the end of the year," said Alex Stamos, chief information security officer of Yahoo, in a statement to the AFP. "Anybody who has the ability to write an email should have no problem using our email encryption."